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"Maybe, but we could have had a conference call for that. What’s really going on?"
I wanted to tell her that this was the only place I could think to send my mother where she might be safe. That my father had disappeared so I needed to protect them both… again. That I’d lied to protect her once.
It would be easier if you did.
But still, something kept me from blurting out the words.
She sighed and turned her head. "Never mind."
We pulled into island traffic, and the white of the royal structures mixed in with the bright colors of the other buildings, weaving a gorgeous tapestry of scenery while we drove. The market sellers, kids playing stick ball on the sidewalks, and the diversity of the people added to the beautiful backdrop.
"I'm not shutting you out, it's just… I'm not used to sharing things with anyone."
"I remember a time when you started to open up to me,” she reminded me. “You told me I was the one who mattered."
I sighed. "Gwen, try to understand."
"It's fine, Atticus. It doesn't matter anymore."
"Yes, it fucking does," I bit out.
"Oh no, you don't." She shook her head at me. "You don't get to be angry and talk to me like that. I haven't done anything wrong. You're the one being cagey."
I ran my hand through my hair in frustration. "Fine. Jesus. I'm here to see my mother."
"What?" Her brow furrowed. "But I thought she was in New York."
"No, I had her moved here two months ago."
Her eyes widened. "Was that before or after you sent me away?"
I licked my lips and turned to meet her gaze directly. "Right before I spoke to you."
Her teeth grazed her bottom lip as she worried it. "Why did you move her?"
"Because it wasn't safe for her. I needed to send her somewhere, and I had friends who would watch out for her here."
Her bottom lip quivered slightly, and then she inhaled sharply. "What are you trying to tell me, Atticus?"
"Think about it, Gwen. The two most important people in my world, and I sent them both away from me two months ago."
"You're not going to make me guess, Atticus, you're going to tell me."
I didn’t want her scared. But she would have to find out eventually. "My father has threatened you both. He said, if I went ahead and married you, he'd reveal a secret about my mother from years ago. One that would have her put in jail and see him walking away scot-free."
She glanced at the partition between us and Jax.
I shook my head. "No one knows except Gavin, Pierce, and Micah. They've been with me since the start."
"You're dead serious?"
"I am. I couldn't protect you both. The safest thing was to get you both away from me. You wouldn't have gone. It wouldn’t have mattered what I said."
She looked devastated. "So you hurt me in the worst way you could think of."
The way she said it made my heart crack in two again. "It was the only thing I could think of."
She shook her head, her shoulders sagging. "The worst part about that, Atticus, is that the simplest thing would have been to tell me. I would have left, knowing that it would save your mother. Knowing that was the thing that would save you."
